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Newcastle chairman Mort confident Mido taunts one-off

Newcastle chairman Chris Mort has insisted there can be no repeat of the abuse suffered by Middlesbrough striker Mido during last weekend's derby.

The 24-year-old Egypt international was targeted by travelling supporters at the Riverside Stadium, sparking fresh condemnation of racism in football.

Writing in his programme notes ahead of Saturday afternoon's Barclays Premier League clash with Wigan, he said: "Unfortunately, it was the abuse of Mido and not our open play and goals that captured many of the newspaper headlines.

"As regulars at St James' Park and those that follow us on the road will know, this is not typical behaviour for our supporters.

"At the club, we value very highly the great work that has been done by and with important organisations such as Kick It Out.

"We also do a considerable amount of work which goes unnoticed. On Thursday of this week, for example, we were delighted to host a community awareness event for the benefit of Muslims in the North-East which was attended by around 300 people.

"This club does not judge people on the grounds of race, religion or personal beliefs.

"As I have mentioned in this column previously, I want to encourage fan participation - we have a potential competitive advantage with the positive support our fans can give to our players - however, we must all work hard together to make sure the Mido incident is a one-off."

Mort also thanked Boro chairman Steve Gibson and manager Gareth Southgate for their response to the incident.

He said: "Also, I would like to say a public thank you to the way Middlesbrough's owner and manager reacted to last week's incident.

"While they naturally supported their player, all their comments about Newcastle United were both sensible and measured."

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